Charlotte is FIVE!

Our sweet Char Berry Shortcake is five. It feels like just yesterday this sweet girl joined our family. She has so much joy and personality bottled up into her tiny little body- we’re so blessed to be her parents.

She weighs 38.8 pounds which is 41st percentile.
She is 42.5 inches tall which is 47th percentile.

Our sweet girl is right where she needs to be on the growth charts and received a perfect bill of health from the pediatrician. What a blessing! The only vaccination she received at her checkup was the flu shot. And it was x3…lots of drama that visit.

Charlotte has grown into a gentle, smart and inquisitive girl. Struggles that we faced in the previous years are starting to disappear as she gets older but there’s no doubt she full of energy and life. Being a September birthday, and being a homeschool family, we were faced with the decision to start Charlotte in Kindergarten this year or continue with another year of Pre-K and pick up with Kindergarten next year. We opted for Pre-K for many reasons, but most importantly for confidence. She’s shy and reserved in some settings and we felt like if she had another year to grow, mature and enjoy the pre-k setting she would thrive in Kinder. So far, she’s proven that we’ve made the right choice.

To meet her desires to learn new things, we’ve started a level appropriate reading program with her and she’s doing kindergarten math. She also likes to learn all of the other things that Cameron is learning in 1st grade. Charlotte shocked us all when she picked up a book at 4.5 years old and started reading it. I had no idea she even knew all the letter sounds and could piece them together. It was not something we really approached with Cam until she as nearly 6. Charlotte soon desired more and more challenges and learning material and I learned what a joy it was for her when she conquered something. Being the second born, and now a middle child, she’s had to watch Cameron do everything first and have so many successes. Now it was her time to shine alongside her sister. And boy did she blow us away. She is breezing through kindergarten math and memorizing things all the time. I am really so proud of this girl.

Charlotte is our free spirit. But she’s also shy and reserved. When given the chance to let go, she loves to sing and dance and be her smiley and silly self. But I’ve also noticed that she feels embarrassed sometimes if you call too much attention to her when she does this. She’s still our girliest girl. She loves dresses and shoes and makeup and fancy hair. Because of this, we decided to take Charlotte’s birthday pictures at the beach this year. We rented a beautiful dress for her and let her dance away while the sun set on the beach. I love how they turned out.

This summer our sweet girl learned how to swim. She learned to dress herself. She learned how to use a computer. She learned the magic of playing barbies. And she learned what it means to be a great big sister. She’s so good to Molly. She’s tolerant and kind and loving. Even when Molly is not.

When Charlotte turned 5, she began to think about things like death and the life beyond. A few weeks ago, she came to me very solemnly with some serious questions. She had some dreams that had confused her, frightened her and caused her to worry. I had never seen this side of her. I learned in this conversation how thoughtful my sweet girl is. How inquisitive she is. And that there’s no doubt she’s smarter than I had ever realized before. Her worries were eased for the time being but I know that growing up will bring more and more questions. I hope she always feels comfortable to come to daddy and me with these questions and worries. I remember the burning stomach pains of childhood worry. Fear without understanding. Her big sister is a worrier just like me and we’re constantly battling to convince her she needs to enjoy her childhood and not worry about things out of our control.

She had a very healthy year. Only a case of strep and flu early on and then an ear infection over the summer. No teeth have been lost yet but she did experience her first cavity and filling. Seeing Charlotte on laughing gas was pretty darn funny. We feel blessed that none of the children have suffered any serious illnesses or injury. We are praying for yet another year of health for these girls.

One of the greatest joys is seeing this girl with her sisters. They love each other fiercely and have each others’ backs. Even if they do fight sometimes. Nothing is more comforting as a mother than to know that when I’m gone, my children will have each other. I pray they will remain healthy and safe and hold each other close.

Charlotte began taking horseback riding lessons last January which made her so happy. She progressed quickly and loved every minute. Then in July, her instructor had to quit because her husband was being deployed overseas and we have struggled since then to find an instructor and lessons that fit in the budget (they doubled in price when she turned 5). Her love of horses is not lost, however. She remembers riding and says she misses King, the horse she primarily rode. I hope that we can get her back on a horse again soon. If not, she says she might like to try rock climbing. 🙂

Our Charlotte is no doubt the peanut butter and jelly of our family sandwich. She’s fun and full of flavor- definitely the best part of the sandwich. She’s so special to us. Her soul is good and her heart is kind. We love her dearly.